The Gaza Strip, often referred to simply as Gaza, is a small coastal territory in the Southern Levant that is north of Egypt's Sinai, East of the Mediterranean Sea, and South-West of Israel.
The long-standing ruler of the Gaza Strip is Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by most Western states and international governmental organizations. Under Hamas, Gaza has been in a state of conflict with Israel. Several other terrorist organizations reside in Gaza and take part in the hostilities, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, ISIS offshoots and others.
Gaza is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, largely Sunni Muslim, some who identify as refugees or descendants of refugees from territory now belonging to Israel. Gaza has a very young population, but is very impoverished due to mismanagement, corruption, conflict, and the redirection of taxes and financial aid to warfare.
Due to the conflict between Gaza and Israel, the territory has been under blockade since 2007, though it shares one border and crossing, Rafah, with Egypt. A significant amount of smuggling occurs on this border, often through tunnels.
Gaza is surrounded by defensive structures created by the Israel Defense Forces to counter Gazan terrorist attacks. This includes a sensor fence that rings the perimeter, an underground barrier to prevent and detect tunneling, and a naval barrier to prevent naval frogman infiltration.
Rockets fired from Gaza have presented a major strategic challenge to Israel. Military infrastructure runs through Gaza's cities, including rocket infrastructure. Launch sites, munitions storage, command & control centers, bunkers and more can be found throughout Gaza, much of it underground. In the past, Hamas leaders have claimed that 500 kilometers of tunnel systems are laced throughout the Strip.
Gaza was part of the British Mandate after the territory was relinquished by the UK from the Ottoman Empire after World War I. After the Mandate dissolved, it was seized during Israel's War of Independence by Egypt, and ruled by the Egyptian puppet All-Palestine Government. During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the territory, and it was not returned along with other Egyptian holdings after the two made peace in the 1970s. 21 Israeli settlements were established within Gaza, but in 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip. In 2006, the Palestinians held legislative elections, but when Hamas won, there was a civil war, and Hamas seized full control of Gaza.
From the disengagement onwards, Hamas and other terrorist organizations increased terrorist attacks against Israelis, and several operations have been fought to quell Gazan attacks, including 2008's Cast Lead, 2011's Pillar of Defense, 2014's Protective Edge, and 2021's Guardian of the Walls.
According to reports, the grave contained at least 200 bodies.
Lerner traded his civilian clothes and his position as head of international liaison for the Histadrut for an IDF uniform and returned to the spokesman’s office to get Israel’s message out.
“Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
The report, which could prompt some donors to review funding freezes, also said Israel had yet to provide supporting evidence for its claim against the agency.
Following long-standing allegations of antisemitic and pro-terror education in the UNRWA school system, an American think tank aims to bring in a new organization to handle education in Gaza.
Passover reflects on Israel's plight in the Hamas conflict. Amidst despair, unity emerges, echoing ancient struggles for freedom.
Hamas has always had a cost advantage arms race versus Israel with its rockets being much cheaper than Iron Dome interceptors.
Terror attack in Jerusalem • IDF intelligence head resigns •Kataib Hezbollah fire rockets at US military base • Fatah admits Hamas kills aid workers to steal food
A Fatah TV anchor reported that Hamas had attacked aid workers, stolen food and water and caused food prices to skyrocket in the Gaza Strip.
A total of 80% of Jewish Israelis surveyed reported supporting the strike as “the right thing to do.” However, the majority of Arab-Israelis (67%) felt it was “the wrong course of action.”
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